


Whispers

by Madiedoodle



Category: Captain America, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier - Fandom
Genre: Bucky can't see him, But Steve can make helpful suggestions, M/M, Steve is a ghost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-29 17:14:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5135990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madiedoodle/pseuds/Madiedoodle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers died, leaving nothing for Bucky but memories, a few sketches, and whispers of what he knows Steve would say.</p><p>Steve Rogers died, and he came back as a ghost, unable to rest until Bucky is safe, until Bucky can find himself a home without Steve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> More prompts from my new favorite anon! "Can you write a story where Steve has passed away and he is haunting Bucky?"  
> This is far from over, and I hope to add much more to this once I have less homework to do

The worst part of dying had been the look on Bucky’s face as he watched Steve take his last breath, or that’s the conclusion Steve had come to as he felt the life leaving his body. The heartbreaking look was nearly enough to drag air back into his lungs, but his time was up and he knew it. But that didn’t stop him from regretting how broken Bucky looked, and wishing that there was something he could do to help Bucky once he was gone. 

What he didn’t expect was to wake up again, in their apartment, Bucky asleep in a chair before him. He felt strange, like his whole body had turned to dust, but his lungs felt fine again, and he could think freely, none of the previous fog over taking his mind. He did a quick once over, and that’s when he realized that he was not resting on the bed, but instead just a fraction away from touching it. He shrieked, attempting to roll off of the bed in an effort to figure out what was going on. He landed on his feet, the floors no longer cold against his bare toes, and he wondered how that would have happened. Maybe his last bout of illness had killed his nerves, he thought, as he padded slowly towards where Bucky slept. He looked the worse for wear, with days worth of stubble and hair more bedraggled than Steve had ever seen it, still wearing the same clothes that Steve had last seen him in. 

It all came rushing back to Steve in an instant. He had been dying. He HAD died. And yet here he stood, and that’s where the confusion started. It wasn’t until he moved to wake Bucky up that realization truly kicked in, as his hand phased through Bucky as he moved to shake him awake. He sat down heavily on the table that stood behind him, or at least the area above the table. He had died, and now he was a ghost, of all things.

He must have sat there for a long time, because it was getting light outside by the time Bucky began to stir, and Steve watched as Bucky sat up, looking blearily around the apartment, before running a hand through his already messy hair. All hope that Steve held that Bucky would be able to see him was crushed when Bucky’s gaze passed right over him, searching gaze instead landing on the two coats that hung on the coat hanger. One was Steve’s, and he wondered what Bucky planned on doing with Steve’s things. 

He was jolted out of his curiosity as Bucky stood up, snatching his own coat off of the hanger and moving to head out the door. Steve shook his head, the scene familiar to him as Bucky again forgot to grab his breakfast. 

“Don’t be such doof, if you leave without some food you’ll be grumpy for the rest of the day.” he said, an automatic reaction. Bucky stiffened, frown becoming more pronounced, eyebrows drawing further together. 

“You’re finally losin’ it, Barnes.” he muttered to himself, but still headed back inside, grabbing a slice of bread and quickly covering it in preserves, and then heading back out the door again. Steve followed him, vaguely surprised that he was able to leave the premises of the apartment, but not daring to question this stroke of luck, and continuing along Bucky’s path. He was easily able to keep up with Bucky’s long strides, a feat he had never been able to accomplish before, and he took the opportunity of being able to walk without obstacles to study Bucky further. To say he looked like a mess was to say the least, the dark circles under his eyes prominent, a sad, red rim to his eyes that made Steve’s heart break even further. 

They had soon reached their destination, and Steve sputtered to a stop as he saw where they were. “The recruiting office?” he asked, voice bewildered, and he hurried after Bucky. He had never wanted to join the army before, had prayed against being drafted once the draft had started up. He had always said that the army just wasn’t for him, but Steve had suspected that Bucky had stayed to take care of him. And now that Steve was gone, there was nothing to hold Bucky back. 

“Well if it isn’t James Barnes. Glad to see a strapping young man in here, we need more men like you. But last I heard, you weren’t to keen on joinin’ up. Change of heart?” the man at the desk said, and Bucky stood almost awkwardly, hands in his pockets, barely making eye contact with the man at the desk. 

“Seemed like the right thing to do, sir. I had a friend, it’s what he wanted, so I figure, I may as well.” he said, and the man nodded.

“I heard about Steve, it’s a damn shame really, kid had a lot of heart.” he said, and Bucky nodded, a sad grin donning his face.

“He sure did. I figure I hung around him enough to’ve picked up some of it, or that’s the hope at least.” he said quietly, and the recruiter nodded. Steve remembered the man, the first to deny him entry into the army, though he was the kindest out of all of them. He was surprised the man remembered him, but Brooklyn was a close knit community, and news of death spread like wildfire. 

“True enough, James. All your papers are in order, all you’ve gotta do is sign here, and you’ll be a soldier of the US army.” the man said, and Steve held his breath as Bucky signed the paper with only a moments hesitation. 

Now he could only hope that he would be able to follow Bucky over oceans.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of dear little ghostie Steve and his favorite living idiot, now with the bonus of war and Peggy Carter.

It didn’t take him long to figure out that somehow, people could hear him. Not in the usual sense, not in a way that anyone would ever recognize or accknowledge. Bucky especially, who would often almost respond, before catching himself, a look of sadness crossing his face that made Steve’s heart break a little bit more each time. But he couldn’t help it, the suggestions and the talking to the living, and if he stopped Bucky would have died a long time ago. 

And it was times like these when Steve wondered how Bucky survived, even with his help.   
“On your left Buck, back in the trees.” he whispered quietly, and Bucky shifted slightly before pulling the trigger, and Steve watched the man fall to the ground. 

Bucky kept still, completely still, but Steve noticed how his eyes started to gleam and how his jaw clenched like he had an awful taste in his mouth, but Steve knew that Bucky was only trying to not get lost in memory. It was almost enough to get Steve to stop talking, except Bucky needed him.

“Watch your ass Bucky, god you brought all the stupid here with you.”he muttered, and Bucky huffed a laugh as he moved.

“You left all the stupid behind punk.” he whispered, shaking his head as he took out the man who had been sneaking up behind him. 

Steve laughed sadly, and Bucky gave a sad smile at what he must have thought was his mind playing tricks on him, before moving back into position, and Steve stayed silent for a while after that.

Or he would have been quiet, if Bucky wasn’t being ambushed and surrounded by the enemy. Steve wondered where Bucky’s team was, if so many of the enemy soldiers had gotten through. It looked as though they had yet to spot Bucky, as if they were just combing aimlessly through the woods to find any more soldiers, and Steve hurriedly drifted over to the lead man, and prayed to god that he spoke English.

“There are no soldiers left, this is a pointless search. Just leave it and go back, your men are tired and hungry and injured. Go back.” he whispered quietly into the mans ear, and the man did not stop walking as he looked around. But much to Steve’s relief he soon stopped, looking around one last time, and then called his men to turn back. If Steve wasn’t already dead he knew he would have died of heart failure in that moment, and Bucky looked much the same. 

“I swear to God, sometimes I think I’ve got a guardian angel or somthin’.” Bucky muttered once he was sure the soldiers were gone, rolling to his feet and moving over to the camoflauged radio. He sat for a solid two minutes, trying to get through to his team, but no response was forthcoming, and Bucky clenched his jaw tightly as he gathered his things. Steve realized what he was planning on doing, and sighed in defeat as he followed along behind him.

“Damn it Barnes, you can’t be serious. I know your ma raised you smarter than that, you can’t just follow after the Nazis all by yourself.” he said, and Bucky shook his head, pulling his rucksack onto his shoulder before trudging off in the direction the enemy had gone.

“You know something, voice in my head? My ma didn’t raise me to be dumb, but someone else taught me that sometimes theres something worth standing up for, and those men are all I’ve got left.” he muttered, and Steve stopped in his tracks. In the past months, Bucky had never spoken directly too him, and it was strange that it was happening now. 

“But you don’t have to go by yourself, you jerk. Go back to base. Get help, reinforcements.”he said, and Bucky shook his head stubbornly, as if trying to shake Steve’s voice from his head. 

“No time, I don’t have time for this crap.” he muttered, walking faster, and Steve huffed. 

“Don’t make me go get Peggy myself.” he said, and Bucky stopped completely, grinding his teeth in what looked like frustration.

“Peggy Carter can not hear you, you are just a voice in my head reminding me exactly how deep around the bend I am, now if you’d quit your yapping and let me think.” he said angrily, and Steve stayed quiet. It was surreal having Bucky actually talking to him, but heart breaking to think of how crazy Bucky thought he was, and Steve couldn’t do anything to fix it. At least, not without help. 

If he thought hard enough, he could go anywhere he wanted, as long as Bucky had been there. And so it was an easy think to appear in front of the command tent, and simpler to enter and find Peggy. For some reason that Steve would likely never know, Peggy could hear him almost as well as Bucky could. It was strange, but it was handy sometimes, when he needed someone to keep Bucky out of trouble. 

When he found her she was sitting at Captain Philips desk, signing papers in the same way that a secretary would, and Steve was annoyed that that was often what she was left to do, despite all her skills. But that wasn’t important then, and he hurriedly went up to her. 

“Peggy, Bucky is alone, his squad has been captured and are currently being taken to a Nazi camp. Bucky is following them on foot, by himself. You’ve gotta help him.” he said, and Peggy’s head snapped up. 

“Has anyone checked in with the 107th?” she asked a harried looking man from the coms tent, and he shook his head. “Get someone on that.” she ordered him, and he hurried off to do as she asked. “I don’t like the feeling of this.” she said, and Steve sighed in relief knowing that she had taken his suggestion. She would do all that she could to help Bucky. With that knowledge he went back to Bucky, mere thought taking him back to where Bucky was walking. 

Where Bucky would have been walking, if he hadn’t gotten himself captured by Nazis in the mere minutes Steve had been gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to tell me what you think! Or if you have any prompts you want me to write, feel free to send those too!

**Author's Note:**

> Please, feel free to tell me what you think! And to send prompts of your own, I am enjoying my new loss of writers block and these fics are quite fun to write!


End file.
